Wednesday Re-Set

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On yesterday's edition of The Pipeline Show we wrapped up the Memorial Cup, interviewed another top prospect for the 2009 NHL Draft, covered the AHL playoffs in Manitoba, spoke with a player who has suited up for new Oiler head coach Pat Quinn twice in the last year and we also raised $900 for charity.

We got things started with some discussion on the topics of the day including the news that Edmonton double dipped into the free agent coach pool signing both Quinn and Tom Renney. We announced the charity auction for the last two spots in the annual TEAM 1260 golf tournament and immediately bids went from $150 to $200 t0 $500!

Interesting question posed by Dean last night: If Jordan Eberle doesn't scored with 4 seconds left in the WJC game against Russia and Canada goes on to lose that game (and doesn't win gold)... does Pat Quinn still get hired yesterday? If he fails to win gold with Canada at the WJC in Ottawa, does he get saddled as a guy who is too old and couldn't lead a favorite to a gold medal? Definitely an interesting question.

We also talked a bit about the possibility of Medicine Hat Tigers head coach Willie Desjardins as being the final piece to Edmonton's coaching puzzle. Pat Quinn mentioned yesterday that they might still be adding someone but he would have to be someone who has less experience and maybe comes from a lower level of hockey. Certainly the fact that Desjardins ran the defence for Quinn at the WJC lends credibility to the theory.

We also mentioned that TPS Guest Player blogger Mike Lee of the Fargo Force was named as the top junior goalie in the United States. Congrats to Mike from The Pipeline Show... I'm sure we'll hear about his thoughts on the award in his next blog entry here at Coming Down the Pipe!


In Segment #2 we spoke with Peter Loubardias of Rogers Sportsnet who called the Memorial Cup. Peter is a regular on our show and his passion for junior hockey is obvious to anyone who ever listens to him call a CHL game. Peter explained why he felt this past tournament was his favorite in memory. We also talked about individual performances of note, we disagreed about the quality of goaltending in the event but agreed on the disappointing performances of Mikael Backlund and Keven Veilleux in particular. Always a great time speaking with Peter about the CHL.

We played some Bad Ass Trivia to end hour #1.

The second hour of the show began with Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun guiding us through the AHL playoffs from the perspective of the Manitoba Moose. We talked about who was helping the Moose get it done including goalie Cory Schneider. The city of Winnipeg breathed a sigh of relief when the Oilers announced their new coaches because they left Scott Arniel alone - for now. We suspect Arniel will be snapped up by someone this summer. A lot of people are watching the scenario play out in Phoenix with great interest as well and Mr. Wiebe commented on all of that as well.

Every week we interview a prospect available for the 2009 NHL Draft and this week it was Drew Shore's turn. The center has committed to Denver next year but we had an emailer want to know if he'd consider going to Chilliwack, the WHL team that owns his CHL rights. Shore talked about his season, looked ahead to the combine and to next season as well.

Finally, Jordan Eberle joined us to talk about his experience playing for Pat Quinn at the Ivan Hlinka U18 tournament and also at the 2009 WJC in Ottawa. It was interesting to hear a player's perspective on what it was like to play for a veteran NHL coach at such a young age. Eberle also commented on the current situation in Regina with Dale Derkatch being replaced by the same coach that he had stepped in for a year ago... Curtis Hunt.

The show wrapped up with a back-and-forth bidding war that saw the golf tournament bid jump from $500 to $600, then to $650 and up to $800 before finally settling at $900! We were thrilled to bring in that much cash for the charity tournament.

Notes: The month of June will be pretty much 100% dedicated to the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Our projected guest list is rapidly coming together and will, quite frankly, blow your socks off... Follow us of Facebook and on Twitter... our daily team-by-team draft previews started coming out last Sunday so keep checking back here first thing every morning to see who we think your favorite team will select on June 26th...

Atlanta Thrashers Draft Preview

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First Round Position: 4th

Best Picks of last 3 Years:

Zach Bogosian-D-1st 2008
Paul Postma-D-7th 2007
Bryan Little-C-1st 2006
Ryley Holzapfel-C-2nd 2006
Chris Corrazzi-G-6th 2008

Coming Down the Pipe - Atlanta sold a ton of their future in 2007 when they made the post season for the first time in team history. They dealt former first round pick Braydon Coburn as well as their first round pick from that year and because of it, the Thrashers don’t have as many high level players as a team that’s finished near the bottom so many times should. Bryan Little has been great, as has 2001 first rounder Ilya Kovalchuk is a star, but Alex Bourret (traded), Boris Valabik and Kari Lehtonen have yet to pan out as pros.

Draft Trends – The Thrashers are pretty neutral when it comes to CHL/NCAA. Of their last 19 picks, 7 have been from each league, with the rest coming from Europe.

Millard: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson-After taking defenceman Zach Bogosian last year the Thrashers need to grab an impact forward. MPS will be a nice wing man for 31 goal man from 08-09 Bryan Little.

Flaming: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson – Atlanta has decent prospect depth but is lacking a scorer and the Swede may partially fill the void left when Kovalchuk inevitably leaves.

Oilers Hire New Head Coach

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced the hiring of both Pat Quinn and Tom Renney to their coaching staff. Official release HERE.

Quinn played for the Edmonton Oil Kings before several years in the NHL where he compiled 950 PIM in 606 games for Toronto and Atlanta. His coaching career began in the late 1970's in Philadelphia and he went on to coach in Los Angeles, Vancouver and finally Toronto until 2005-06. Since then he has worked with Hockey Canada and led the U18 team to success at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament and most recently the U20 squad at the 2009 WJC in Ottawa.

On a side note, Quinn has part ownership of the WHL's Vancouver Giants.

Jordan Eberle, who played for Quinn in Ottawa, will join us on The Pipeline Show tonight to get the Oiler prospect perspective of today's news.

Tom Renney coached in the WHL for two years on the bench of the Kamloops Blazers before moveing to Hockey Canada's National Program for two more seasons. He then moved to the NHL with Vancouver for a couple of years but spent the last 5 seasons in the Big Apple behind the bench of the New York Rangers.

There were reports that one of the Oilers assistant coaches from last year would be retained and while most felt that Charlie Huddy would be the lucky one it was announced that Kelly Buchberger is actually the coach who will stick around.

One other interesting tidbit, it was made clear today that there might still be another addition to the coaching staff but that was not a 'for sure'. Let me offer up the name of Medicine Hat's Willie Desjardins as a solid candidate for an assistant coaching spot. He's got successful history with Quinn from the WJC and the new head coach made reference to solid CHL coaches that have made the jump to the NHL recently. Makes sense and it would be a great choice that I mentioned in early April. The Tigers have developed a ton of talent over the last several years and Desjardins deserves a large amount of credit for that success.

Top 5 Tuesday: Memorial Cup Performances

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The 2009 Memorial Cup has come and gone but in its wake are the names of players that are now recognizable because of the way they played in the event.

Here is a look at 5 of the best single game performances from this year's edition of the Memorial Cup.

5. Luca Cunti (LW) - Rimouski Oceanic
Kelowna 4 - Rimouski 1
Friday, May 15, 2009

I really could have selected any game to point out a strong performance for Cunti. In fact, over the course of the entire tournament I would go so far as to suggest that Cunti was Rimouski's best forward - certainly in the first two of the Oceanics four outings. He only ended the tournament with 2 points, both goals, but he was the most dangerous on the rush and one of the most creative players Rimouski had going.

While Patrice Cormier found his physical game in time for game 3, Keven Veilleux never did much to impress me, Philippe Cornet was decent and Logan McMillan invisible (outside of a huge elbow on Dmitri Kulikov)... it was Cunti who showed up for every game.

4. Dale Mitchell (RW) - Windsor Spitfires
Windsor 6 - Rimouski 4
Thursday, May 21, 2009

The tie breaker game appeared to be in Rimouski's control as they carried a 4-2 lead into the 3rd period. However, with Toronto prospect Dale Mitchell struck three times in 3:33 of the final frame, the Spitfires assumed command of the game and went on to eliminate the hosts from the tournament. Mitchell had 7 shots on net in the game and was the spark plug emotionally and physically in the game for Windsor.

Mitchell also scored a huge goal in the final against Kelowna when he beat Mark Guggenberger for the game's second goal and the eventual game winner.

3. Marc-Andre Bourdon (D) - Rimouski Oceanic
Rimouski 5 - Windsor 4
Sunday, May 17, 2009

With the Oceanic dropping their first game to Kelowna it was paramount that they get a win against Windsor. To do so they knew they were going to have to attempt to keep Taylor Hall in check and that job fell to Philadelphia 3rd round pick Marc-Andre Bourdon - and he flourished in the role. Hall managed to pick up a couple of assists and had 5 shots on net but he played with his head on a swivel too after being pummeled early on by the very physical Bourdon.

It was Bourdon's best game of the tournament but that's not to say that he played poorly in the other three. He helped make a name for himself in this tournament and gave Flyers fans another player to look forward to.

2. Adam Henrique (C) - Windsor Spitfires
Windsor 3 - Drummondville 2 (OT)
Friday, May 22, 2009

I fully expected that the New Jersey Devils prospect was going to be named as the tournament MVP but that honor went to Taylor Hall instead. Henrique's 9 points was tied for the tournament high and in the semi-final game he was clutch, scoring the overtime winner against Drummondville. Henrique also had a pair of assists against Kelowna during the 2-1 round robin win that kept the Spitfires alive.

He wasn't Windsor's most talented, most dangerous, most physical or flashiest player but he was their most consistent game in and game out. Just like fellow Devils prospect Matt Halischuck rose to fame after the 2008 WJC, Henrique's stock is on the upward trend now too.

1. Jamie Benn (LW) - Kelowna Rockets
Kelowna 6 - Drummondville 4
Monday, May 18, 2009

The WHL playoff scoring leader could do no wrong early in the event and after picking up 3 points in the opener against Rimouski Jamie Benn was even better in game 2. Benn equaled a Memorial Cup record with a 5-point performance that included 4 goals - 1 shorthanded, 1 on the power play and 2 at even strength. With Drummondville pressing for an equalizer, Benn nearly struck for a 5th goal but saw his rink long shot ring off the post of the empty net.

Benn is a 5th round pick of the Dallas Stars who has blossomed since joining the Rockets partway through the 2007-08 season. He played for Canada at the 2009 WJC in Ottawa and has likely seen his last junior game as he heads up a level and becomes a pro.

Colorado Avalanche Draft Preview

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First Round Position: 3rd

Best Picks of last 3 Years:

Kevin Shattenkirk (D) – 1st round 2007
Chris Stewart (RW) – 1st round 2006
Colby Cohen (D) – 2nd round 2007
T.J. Galiardi (F) – 2nd round 2007
Nigel Williams (D) – 2nd round 2006

Coming Down the Pipe – The Avalanche are a far cry from the perennial powerhouse they were since moving to Denver from Quebec City. Their superstars have all mostly retired, or are about to, and years of success hampered their ability to keep the cupboard stocked with top prospects. There are some talented youngsters in the system including T.J. Hensick, Kyle Cumiskey and T.J. Galiardi who have all had at least a taste of the NHL by now. Collegian Ryan Stoa was recently signed to an entry level deal as well. Colorado is deepest on the blueline when it comes to top-end prospects but there might be a shortage of natural wingers who can produce.

Draft Trends – The Avalanche have been very successful south of the border and have shown a definite interest in collegians or juniors who are headed to the NCAA, especially in rounds 2-4. These might be players who are considered risks or projects that may pan out over time given patience and 4-years of college hockey to develop.

Millard: Matt Duchene - For a while I was thinking Colorado might go after Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson in hopes that he has a little Peter Forsberg in him, but some don’t see MPS as being as complete of a player as Duchene and the Avs can’t take a chance in their rebuilding mode.

Flaming: Matt Duchene – As Joe Sakic’s career winds down his heir-apparent gets ready to help fill his shoes. The gifted middleman from Brampton will help rejuvenate a Colorado franchise that continues a successful rebuilding process.

NCAA/CHL Free Agent Goalie Wishlist

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Following my wishlist of forwards and blueliners, here are the goalies that interest me enough that I hope to see get consideration for an invite to summer camp here in Edmonton. Some of these guys are still eligible to get drafted at the end of June but all of them have been passed over at least once already.

Dean and I were talking a while back about save percentage and trying to compare it to goal scoring. What number would be equal in value to a team as say a 50-goal scorer? There were only 5 goalies in the NHL this year with a save percentage of .920 or greater. There was only one 50-goal scorer but there were eight who had 40 or more. So just for arguments sake... can we make a case for saying a goalie with a .920 save percentage is relatively as valuable as a 45-goal scorer?

Maybe, maybe not. Worth talking about.

Ben Scrivens - Cornell University Big Red
Born Sep 11, 1986 Spruce Grove, ALTA
Height 6.02 Weight 180 Shoots L

The jury is very much mixed on exactly how good Scrivens is; is he a product of an uber-defensive system of a team that plays in a relatively weak conference or is he as good as his numbers suggest? And really, that's the point of the invite. I spoke with a scout a couple months back and asked him that exact question and his answer was

"Without a doubt, he's a product of... maybe I'm wrong but I don't think so. He has made improvements in his game since last year, especially in his movement in the crease."

Scrivens posted the .931 save percentage in 36 games, 4th highest in the entire NCAA. This after a .930 in 2007-08 and a .911 in 2006-07. His 1.81 goals against average was another career best and ranked 3rd best in the NCAA. At 6'2 and 180 lbs his size is an asset and the fact that he's a local kid might have some intangible positive spin possibilities as well. He's headed back for his senior year so will be a UFA this time next season.

Zane Kalemba - Princeton Tigers
Born Dec 19, 1985 Saddle Brook, NJ
Height 5.11 Weight 185 Shoots L

The New Jersey product has bounced around in his amateur career with stops in Tri-City and Green Bay of the USHL followed by a year in the SJHL's Flin Flon Bombers. He's had two strong years at Princeton under head coach Guy Gadowsky. Kalemba's 1.82 GAA was right behind Scrivens but his .932 sv% was a hair better. Like Scrivens, Kalemba's team is also located in the ECAC Conference where there is a distinct difference between the strong and weak hockey programs.

I have only seen Kalemba play once and it was on TV so not the best way to get a scouting read. At 5'11 and 185 lbs he doesn't have the natural size advantage that are becoming the norm in the NHL but he appears to be athletic enough, like Dustin Tokarski, that he should be given an extra look.

Kieran Millan - Boston University
Born Aug 31, 1989 Edmonton, ALTA
Height 6.00 Weight 190 Shoots L

Near the top of my list would be the freshman sensation of the NCAA Champion B.U. Terriers. We've had Millan on the show before and he struck us as a mature and realistic young man. His play on the ice this past year, his first at the NCAA level, was obviously terrific as he helped the Terriers capture the national title. Coach Jack Parker told us during our Memorial Cup Coach's Show about how key a player he was on and off of the ice.

Millan's numbers are solid and considering the fact that Hockey East was arguably the best of the 6 NCAA conferences last year, the stats should mean even more. Millan posted a 1.93 GAA in 35 games and had a .925 save percentage to go with it. He held the opposition to 1 or fewer goals in 15 of those games including a shutout over UMass-Lowell in the Hockey East title game.

His AJHL days with Spruce Grove were less impressive but after working with ORSports later in the year he turned his game around and hasn't looked back since.

Aaron Sorochan - Alberta Golden Bears
Born Apr 17, 1984 Edmonton, ALTA
Height 6.00 Weight 180 Shoots L

Back in March I mentioned a bunch of Golden Bears past and present that I'd like the Oilers to look at next year, especially if former UofA coach Rob Daum is back at the helm of the Springfield Falcons and goalie Aaron Sorochan was obviously one of them. (I neglected to mention Ben Kilgour and Ian MacDonald again for the forwards wishlist but they'd still be on it).

Robin Brownlee typed up a nice outline of Sorochan recently for Oilers Nation so rather than me re-hashing what he said there or what we've written in the past about him here, suffice to say that I think he's deserving of another look.

One NHL scout told me after one of the Golden Bears' National Title wins that it was going to be an off-season priority for him to get his NHL team to invite both Sorochan and Ben Thomson to their next camp. Unfortunately that scout was not retained by that NHL club. Regardless, the interest from NHL teams has been there in the past and should be even more now that Sorochan in done his CIS career.

Torrie Jung - Edmonton Oil Kings
Born Jan 21, 1989 Nanaimo, BC
Height 6.01 Weight 170 Shoots L

At the moment Jung's NHL rights are held by the Tampa Bay Lightning but if they don't sign him by June 1st, he'll go back into the draft. If that happens, I will be very surprised if another team doesn't take him but... if that also happens then he will become a UFA and therefore up for grabs.

Jung had the 7th best GAA and the 5th best SV% on a team that finished just well enough to make the playoffs (thanks to him) and still bad enough to have a top-10 pick in the Bantam Draft. Jung was the biggest reason for the turn around the Oil Kings had this year and if that club actually gets him back for an overage year... well just making the playoffs won't be enough.

He's a quick and agile goalie but is pretty good positionally as well. His personality is terrific and his attitude is first class. He'd be a great addition to any organization and if he can duplicate last year's success as a 20-year-old then he'll definitely be worth signing.

Nicola Riopel - Moncton Wildcats
Born Feb 20, 1989 St-Pie-de-Bagot, PQ
Height 6.00 Weight 167 Shoots L

I honestly know nothing about Riopel except that his numbers this year were very strong, he's undrafted and yet he was the QMJHL's nominee for CHL Player of the Year. He backstopped Moncton to the third best record in the regular season but individually he was on top of the league for both GAA (2.01) and SV% (.931).

He's of average if not slight below average size but in a league that often sees ridiculous scores, giving up just a pair is pretty respectable. The next best GAA in the league was 2.37 so there was quite a bit of separation for him from the field.

He also represented the QMJHL in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge in 2007-08, was an all-star in 2009 and picked up several Player-of-the-Week awards over his 3-year Q career in with the Wildcats.

(Photo credits: USCHO.com, QMJHL, WHL, Edmonton Oil Kings, University of Alberta)

NCAA/CHL Free Agent Defencemen Wishlist

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Last week I threw out a bunch of names of forwards who I'd like to see get free agent invites to Edmonton's summer camp for a closer look. (See HERE). I have a shorter list of defencemen that I'd have an interest in seeing.

Eric Doyle - Swift Current Broncos
Born Apr 5, 1989 Calgary, ALTA
Height 6.03 Weight 191 Shoots R

His WHL career is at an end after a year and a half in Everett followed by two and a half with the Swift Current Broncos. Doyle has decent size and contributed a pile of points this year his 55 points were a team high for blueliners. Doyle was also a healthy +25 n the season and found a way to play physical without taking a lot of penalties - only 32 PIM on the year. The Calgary native was a key ingredient to the Broncos' power play and has a big shot to go along with competent passing skills.

Dallas Jackson - Prince George Cougars
Born Mar 31, 1989 Edson, ALTA
Height 6.02 Weight 194 Shoots L

He's got one more year of junior eligibility left and could still be taken in the NHL draft but if he doesn't, Jackson is a guy I'd like to see more of. He plays a tough and physical brand of hockey but isn't a goon, just a difficult guy to play against. He wasn't drafted into the WHL but was listed by Red Deer. He started with the Rebels but was moved to Regina where he played 18 games and had 6 points and was eventually dealt to Prince George. The Cougars signed him on September 19th of this past season and he went on to be an anchor of the PG blueline scoring 13 goals and 38 points in the process.

Ben Wright - Lethbridge Hurricanes
Born Mar 18, 1988 Foremost, ALTA
Height 6.02 Weight 200 Shoots R

Originally drafted by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 4th round of the 2006 event, Wright was not signed by the NHL team and was not re-drafted last year. It's really surprising to me because when I watch the Hurricanes play, he's a guy that seems to be a big part of their team. He was the captain the last couple of years and is a pretty sound shutdown guy if you ask me. I've spoken with a lot of people around the league who think he's a solid pro prospect so why he is still available is beyond me. I am pretty sure he was invited to a NHL camp last fall (Ottawa - thanks Alan Caldwell)but was not signed. Wright played in the 2007 ADT Canada-Russia Challenge as well.

Rob Kwiet - Windsor Spitfires
Born Aug 2, 1988 Toronto, ONT
Height 6.01 Weight 218 Shoots L

We just watched him help the Spitfires capture the 2009 Memorial Cup and after a 67-point campaign I'll be surprised if someone doesn't sign him sooner as opposed to later. One has to wonder how padded his stats might be considering the team that he was on this year but he did manage 27 points last season and 39 the year previous to that. He's a big body that appears capable of playing a decent 2-way game, he might not be a first pairing power play guy but he might be someone who can play on the second unit as well as on the PK.

Maxime Ouimet - Rimouski Oceanic
Born Feb 6, 1988 Laval, PQ
Height 5.11 Weight 192 Shoots L

The Oceanic really missed having Ouimet in their line up during the Memorial Cup. He was this year's winner of the Kevin Lowe trophy given out to the QMJHL's top defensive defenceman. He was originally a 1st roound pick of Baie-Comeau where he played his entire QMJHL career until the trade deadline this past season when he was picked up by Rimouski. Ouimet has been a league all-star and played in the ADT Canada-Russia Challenge as well. Outside of that, I don't know much but that's the point of an invite to a summer camp; to learn more about players.

(Photos Courtesy: Francis Vachon,Lethbridge Hurricanes, Swift Current Broncos, WHL)

Tampa Bay Lightning Draft Preview

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First Round Position: 2nd

Best Picks of last 3 Years:
Steven Stamkos (C) - 1st 2008
Dustin Tokarski (G) - 5th 2008
Dana Tyrell (C) - 2nd 2007
Luca Cunti (LW) - 3rd 2007
Riku Helenius (G) - 1st 2006

Coming Down the Pipe:
So far The Bolts have 86 man games to show for their last 3 drafts with last year’s first overall pick Steven Stamkos contributing 79 of them. Goaltender Riku Helenius has played one game while fellow 2006 pick Kevin Quick has suited up 6 times on the blueline. If you include the 2005 draft there are only 41 more games from Tamp draft picks. This could have a lot to do with the fact that Tampa Bay has traded away quite a few picks over the years. They didn’t have a 2nd 3rd, or 4th round pick last year. Dealt their first round pick in 2007 and were skipped in the 2nd round of the 2006 draft. The Lightning desperately need a #1 Dman after dealing Dan Boyle as well as most of what they received for Dan Boyle last year.

Draft Trends - Tampa hasn’t taken a Q player in the first round since Vinny Lecavalier in 1998. This is the 6th time in team history that Tampa has drafted in the top 3.

Millard: Victor Hedman-Tampa dealt Dan Boyle last year and have traded most of what they received in return. The bolts need a blueliner more than a forward and Hedman is a perfect fit.

Flaming: John Tavares – Whether it’s the Bolts or the Toronto Maple Leafs who trade up to this spot, I expect the OHL scoring machine doesn’t fall any farther than this.

Windsor Wins 2009 Memorial Cup

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The Windsor Spitfires haev captured their first Memorial Cup win their franchise's history on the strength of an early first period onslaught that powered them to a 4-1 win over Kelowna.

No team had ever lost their first two games at the tournament and gone on to win the Memorial Cup but that is what Windsor managed to do on Sunday. The Rockets had a chance to eliminate the Spitfires from the tournament on Tuesday but couldn't get it done and it came back to haunt them. Windsor defeated Rimouski in the tie breaker and then Drummondville in the semi-final before taking it to the WHL champs in the title game.

The first period was about as bad as it gets if you're on the side of the Kelowna Rockets. First, Mikael Backlund's lackadaisical breakout was broken up by fellow Flames prospect Greg Nemisz who stripped the Swede and fed Adam Henrique who wired a shot past Mark Guggenberger.

A minute and a half later, Dale Mitchell's routine shot from the sideboards somehow eluded Guggenberger up high on the short side and suddenly Windsor was up 2-0.

Kelowna coach Ryan Huska immediately called a time out to try and calm down his troops and slow the momentum of the Spitfires. It didn't work.

With Kyle St. Denis in the box for a knee on Mark Cundari, Windsor would strike again. Rob Kwiet converted on an opportunity with Andrei Loktionov and Henrique picking up assists on the goal.

Mark Guggenberger was given the hook after allowing 3 goals on 3 shots and in came 17-year-old Adam Brown who hadn't started a game since March 14th and that was the his only action in that month. Brown (pictured above) was immediately tested as Mitchell barreled in alone on a breakaway but the youngster made two saves to get his first feel of the game. Brown saw 6 shots in the period and stopped them all.

Kelown'a bad luck wasn't limited to their poor goaltending; three key players went down to injury and although all of them returned to play they were clearly a little worse for wear. Jamie Benn went down hard after missing Taylor Hall with what would have been a huge hit. Hall was able to duck under Benn who collided into the boards hurting his tailbone.

Tyler Myers bloked a shot on his the inside of his knee and skated off awkwardly and missed his next shift. Captain Colin Long was taken out by an aggressive Lane MacDermid right at the end of the 1st period and had to be helped off the ice.

Windsor outshot Kelowna 9-5 in the first period although scoring chances may actually have been in favor of the Rockets.

However, the Rockets burst out of the gate to start the second period and scored just 8 second in as Long made good on the power play. Kelowna had a bunch of momentum at that point and had several more scoring chances but couldn't beat Andrew Engelage.

The momentum wouldn't last forever though and when Ryan Ellis hammered a point blast off the post and behind Brown, the Spitfires appeared to assume complete control.

There was one scary moment as Jamie Benn slashed Mark Cundari in the mouth and received a double-minor for the high stick. Windsor failed to capitalize on the 4-minute man advantage but they did carry the 4-1 lead into the final period.

There was no scoring in the final frame as Windsor sunk into defensive mode and a deflated looking Rockets squad couldn't muster any offence.

The final shots in the game were 28-22 in favor of the new CHL champs. Adam Henrique, a New jersey Devils 3rd round pick in 2008, and Jamie Benn of the Rockets led the tournament in scoring with 9 points each. Taylor Hall of the Spitfires was chosen as the tournament MVP.

The image of seeing the team posing for the traditional photo with Mickey Renaud's #18 jersey draped around the trophy... fans of any team would have to admit that it was a great moment.

It was the first time since 2002 that the host league was not represented in the Memorial Cup final. It was also the first time since 2003 that the host team was not playing in the final game either.

Next year the Brandon Wheat Kings will host the tournament.

New York Islanders Draft Preview

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First Round Position: 1st

Best Picks of last 3 Years:

Kyle Okposo (RW) – 1st round 2006
Josh Bailey (C) – 1st round 2008
Kirill Petrov (RW) – 3rd round 2008
Aaron Ness (D) – 2nd round 2008
Jason Gregoire (LW) – 3rd round 2007

Coming Down the Pipe - Both Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey are already contributing at the NHL level. Thanks to GM Garth Snow's decision to commit to a true rebuild, the organization has acquired and used a lot of draft picks over the last few years by trading off veteran players at the NHL deadline. Snow has also shown a talent for trading down in the draft, still getting their man while adding even more assets in the process. The Islanders have solid prospects in their system at all positions although one might argue that in goal is where they may be the thinnest.

Draft Trends - The Islanders have shown no heavy preference to league, nationality or position in recent drafts having plucked players from just about everywhere imaginable. They have drawn from the USHL, High School and Jr. ‘A’ a total of 12 times in the last 3 years.

Millard: John Tavares -The Islanders want a middleman for Kyle Okposo and it will be a tough sell to their fans if they turn down a potential 50-goal scorer. They need to make a splash and Tavares will deliver.

Flaming: Victor Hedman – The Islanders can't afford to be wrong and despite both being labelled as potential franchise players, Hedman may be considered more of a "safer" pick than Tavares. What you see is what you get; there are no surprises with the big Swede.